California Emissions Exemption Bill Heads to Appropriations

Pre-1981 Vehicles to Get 2-Year Trial Smog Exemption

Long known for having some of the strictest pollution control and emissions standards in the U.S., if not globally, the California state senate is taking the rare step of scaling back regulation on older vehicles. California Senate Bill 1239 would exempt pre-1981 vehicles from emissions testing for a two-year trial period. A permanent exemption would require a full bill that would need to be approved by the state assembly as well. Currently, all vehicles from model year 1976 or newer are required to do a bi-annual smog check. The appropriations committee will consider the exemption on May 27, 2016. The SEMA Action Network, the lobbying arm of the automotive aftermarket organization, has a resource page at this link with more information about the bill and contact information for the committee’s members.

The state assembly also introduced a “fleet modernization” bill earlier this year aimed at incentivizing owners of older late-model vehicles considered to be “gross polluters” by regulators to trade their vehicles in for a cash rebate. Like the 2009 federal “Cash for Clunkers” bill, the engines of the vehicles would be required to be chemically destroyed by the addition of sodium silicate to the crankcase, rendering the engines unsalvageable.